Cuff



March 5, 1935. c. c. HEMMx-:RICH

CUFF

Filed April 14, 1954 k Il Patented Mar. l, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE l i 1,993,717 l e j Clayton C. Hemmerich, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, assignor to Cluett, Peabody 8s Co., Inc., Troy, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 14, 1934, Serial No. 720,584

3 Claims. (Cl. 2-123) This invention relates to an improved arrangement of cuffs for mens shirts, and more particularly to an improved arrangement of the fastening means for the cuffs and of the fabric 5 structure and arrangement of the cuff in relation to the shirt sleeve.

Shirt cus have commonly been held in place by conventional buttons stitched to the cui fabric or by lculi' links or buttons of the interfitting or snap type whichv are detachably engageable in the buttonholes of the cui. Conventional buttons of the type which are attached by thread to the cuff have been more commonly employed with thebarrel type cuff which ordinarily is not considered to afford as satisfactory an appearance as is provided by the French type cuff. Furthermore, buttons of this type often became broken or detached particularly during the laundering of the shirt. French cuffs have ordinarily been provided with registering buttonholes so that cuff links or cuff, buttons might be inserted through the buttonholes to hold the ends of the cuff in juxtaposition. Often such culi' buttons or links were lost or misplaced, and it was necessary for the wearer of shirts of this type to take the trouble to remove the cuff buttons from a shirt which was ready for laundering and to insert the buttons in the cuffs of the freshly laundered shirt which he intended to wear. Ofttimes the wearer of a shirt might nd that-a discarded shirt with its cuff buttons had been placed in the laundry bag or sent to the laundry.

It is an object of the present invention to avoid these disadvantages, and to provide an improved cuff fastening arrangement involving the employment of fastening means permanently secured to the ends of the cuffs but being of a sturdy nature well adapted to withstand the rigors of laundering and having an unusually firm attachment to the fabric structure of the cuff. To this end, I prefer to afford fastening means of the ball and socket or snap type wherein each of the complementary elements of the fastener is formed in two sections which are firmly held in engagement with the opposite faces of the cuff. Thus, each fastening element is permanently and firmly secured to the culi andremains in place throughout the life of the shirt. Accordingly it is not necessary to change or insert cui buttons each time that a new shirt is to be worn. V

To facilitate the purposes of this invention, the cuffs preferably are of the French type and may have their flaps firmly held in place as by manently maintained in its folded position,

thereby avoiding danger of undue strain upon the portions of the cuff which receive the fastening elements, particularly during the laundering operation. If desired, a reinforcement or lining. may be disposed within the cuff in order 10 to aid` its form-retaining characteristics. A cui of this type may have an appearance very closely simulating that of a conventional French cuff with the conventional removable snap buttons. To this end, the stitching which holds the flap of the cuff in place is arranged so that the exterior of the cuff has an appearance which is practically identical with that of a conventional French cuf. Furthermore, the arrangement of the stitching and the provision of the permanent fastening means aid the maintaining of the parts of the culi in proper shape so that it is not likely to become rumpled or distorted from its properly folded condition. Thus a neat, smooth appearance is assured for a cuff of this type.

In order to aid in the proper reinforcement of the cuff in the region of the fastening means and to simulate the appearance of a conventional cu, buttonhole stitching may be provided so that an end portion of this stitching is visible at one side of each of the fastening elements, providing the appearance of a conventional buttonhole, but in order to aid the structural strength of the cul in the region of the fastening elements, the buttonhole is not cut except for an end portion which may be in generally eyelet form to receive a portion of the fastening element extending therethrough. Thus a cuff of this type may be provided with buttonhole stitching passing through its inner and outer flap portions, which ordinarily may consist of four layers of fabric, or,` if a reinforcement is provided, may include five layers of fabric.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a finished cuff attached to a shirt sleeve and embodying the .principles of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a section of one side of the cuff, in dicated by line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a ysection indicated by line 3 3 of Fig. 1, but showing the ends of the cuffs in a slightly separated position;

Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3, but showing the fastening elements in normal interntting engagement; and

Fig. 5 is an elevational detail of the buttonhole portion of the cuff, with a portion of the fastening means shown in section and in dotted lines.

In the accompanying drawing, which exemplifies a preferred embodiment of this invention, the numeral 1 designates a shirt sleeve which may be of conventional type and to which a cuff 2 is secured, this cuff being of the French type but being characterized by an arrangement of its fabric portions and stitching so that its outer flap is permanently held in proper folded position. The cuff may comprise opposite fabric layers 4 and 5 which are stitched to each other along their ends and one side corresponding to the upper edge of the outer flap of the cuff, as designated by numeral 8. Thus a bag-like structure is provided withone side open. The baglike structure thus afforded is then turned inside out so that the stitching A8 is concealed. 'Ihe free ends of this structure are then folded in as designated by numeral 9 (Fig. 2) and disposed on opposite sides of the end of sleeve 1.

A line of stitching 10 is then provided to secure the portions 9 of the cuff to the sleeve 1 and to secure the folded portion or the flap in juxtaposed relation to the inner part of the cuff and the lower end of the sleeve. Thus, as shown, the stitching 10 may be disposed somewhat below the upper edge of the folded flap and inwardly from its ends to afford a hem-like appearance with the upper edge of the flap disposed slightly above the portions 9 and out of direct contactv with the sleeve 1 so that the edge of the cuff is not held in fiat engagement with the sleeve, thus tending to afford an appearance similar to that provided by a conventional French type cuff.

If desired, a lining or reinforcement 12 may be disposed adjoining the fabric layer 5 of the cuff, being held in place by the stitching 8 before the cuff is turned. The stitching 10 may also extend through this lining as shown, in the upper part of Fig. 2. This lining 12 preferably extends beyond the folded portion of the cuff and its lower end may be secured in place by stitching 14 before the cuff is assembled and secured to the shirt sleeve, it being evident that the stitching i4 is upon the inner part of the cuff so that it is normally concealed. The provision of a lining 12 of this type affords a reinforcement which aids the cuff in maintaining its proper shape and also strengthens the cuff structure in the region of the fastening elements.

In accordance with this invention, each end of a finished cuff of the character just described may be provided with buttonhole stitching to define a buttonhole of the eyelet type, such stitching being indicated by the reference character 15. At the end of this stitching a small circular portion of the cloth is included within the stitching and is punched out to provide an opening in each end of the cuff. This opening receives fastening means which may be permanently assembled with the cuff. For this purpose I may provide two-part fastening elements of the snap type.

Thus, as shown at the left of Fig. 3, one of the fastening elements may be provided with an outer decorated button portion having a shank 21 extending through the fabric of the cu and having an enlarged head 23 disposed in a cooperating part of an inner button-like portion 24 of this fastening element, which is disposed in engagement with the inner surface of this end of the cuff. It is evident that-during assembly the parts 20 and 24 of this fastening element are brought in juxtaposition and forced together so that the head 23 of the shank 21 is expanded permanently to engage the corresponding portion of the inner part 24. Thus this fastening element is permanently attached to the conesponding part of the cuff. 'I'he shank 21 fits closely in the opening in the eyelet portion of the buttonhole stitching (Fig. 5).

The cooperating fastening element provides an outer element 20*at which is similar in appearance to the element 20 but which has a small rivetlike extension 26. This element also has an inner button-like part 27 provided with an outwardly extending small-diametered tubular extension 28 that provides a ball-like enlargement to receive the corresponding portion of the cooperating element. The end of the sleeve-like extension 28 is inturned to provide an annular flange 29 against which the end of the portion 26 of the part 20a is clinched with a riveting action. Thus the parts 20a and 27 afford a second element which is firmly secured to the end of the cuff. Obviously, in practice the fastening elements thus provided have complementary interfltting portions which may be snapped into engagement in the conventional manner, as shown in Fig. 4.

It is evident that this invention affords an arrangement of fastening elements which may remain permanently with the shirt throughout its life and thus dispenses with the necessity of removing and inserting cuff buttons each time that a shirt is changed. The arrangement of the fastening elements which is provided herein affords an appearance very similar to that of conventional cuff buttons, particularly due to the decoration of the parts 20 and 20Et in any suitable manner and due to the provision of the buttonhole stitching i5. It is evident, however. that if for any reason the purchaser of a garment of this character prefers to employ cuff fastening buttons of the conventional type, the portions of the buttonholes which are closed may be slit open to permit removal of the fastening means provided with the shirt when sold, so that buttonholes of conventional type are provided to receive removable cuff buttons or links.

The arrangement of the cuff itself with its inner and outer layers secured together by the stitching 10 and by the buttonhole stitching affords a smooth, neat appearing assembly assuring the maintenance of the proper shape of the cuff and affording a sturdy fabric structure to withstand the strains imposed upon the fastening elements. Obviously the arrangement of the reinforcement 12 enhances this effect.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a shirt sleeve, a cuff comprising substantially coextensive layers of material stitched together along their margins and secured to the sleeve, said layers forming a French type cuif with its flap stitched to its inner portion adjoining the sleeve and at the ends of the cuff so that the fold of the cuff is permanently defined, buttonhole stitching extending through the flap and inner portion of the cuff at either end thereof, complementary fasteners permanently secured to the ends of the cui, said fasteners each comprising two buttonlike parts engaging the inner and outer faces of the cuff, and a connecting element extending between said parts and through a small diametered opening within the cuff surrounded by said stitching so that said element is closely surrounded by the wall of the opening, said buttonlike parts being of a distinctly larger diameter than the opening, whereby the fasteners are rmly held in place and whereby the cuff is permanently held in its normal shape.

2. In combination with a shirt sleeve, a cui! comprising substantially coextensive layers of material stitched together at their margins and folded to provide a ap and inner portion for the cuil, the upper edge and ends of the flap being secured to the inner part of the cuff by stitching so that the flap is permanently held in place, buttonhole stitching extending through the flap and inner part of the cuff at each end of the cuil", said stitching being arranged to simulate the stitching of an eyelet type buttonhole, the material of the cuff remaining uncut within the stitching except for a small opening surrounded by the stitching, complementary fasteners permanently secured to each end of the cuff, said fasteners each having an element extending through the corresponding opening, and button-like parts of substantially larger diameter than the opening held against the inner and outer faces of the cuff, the end of the buttonhole stitching remote from the opening extending beyond the part of the fastener on the outer face of the cuil, thereby affording the appearance of a conventional cuff button.

3. In combination with a shirt sleeve, a cui of the French type secured to the sleeve, complementary snap fasteners at the ends of the cuff, each fastener having relatively large diametered parts secured against opposite faces of the cuff and a relatively small diametered element extending through a small opening in the cuff and connecting said parts whereby the fasteners are permanently held on the cuffs, each end of the cuff being provided with buttonhole stitching surrounding the small opening vand extending from the same beyond the large diametered part f the fastener on the outer face of the cuff, thereby affording the appearance of a conventional cui button.

C. C. HEMMERICH. 

